Sony just announced that the PS3 controller will support motion detection to control games by waving the controller around. Whoa. And it's not a Batarang anymore, but basically a lighter, wireless, motion detecting PS2 controller.

They've added gyroscopic control, but it'll take more than that to do everything the Wii controller does. It'll be more like the motion and tilt detection of Nintendo's nunchaku extension, not the main controller itself. Besides, the dual-shock would be a horrible shape for a pointing device anyway.

Odds are Sony is doing this so you'll think exactly the things that have been posted in the thread already, but all motion detection is not equal. Microsoft made a Sidewinder gamepad that did what the Dual-Shock 3 does years ago.

Wow, that is so blantantly stealing ideas, it's not even funny. And to take claim for the innovations is even worse.

I wonder what this means for Wii. I mean, Average Joe would probably pick the PS3 over Wii now, as the PS3 offers the same innovation Wii does more or less(controllers with motion abilities), but still retain traditional gameplay standards (the controller looks exactly like it did previously), and the games will looks better (PS3 is obviously more powerful than Wii).

Nintendo is so going into hardcore damage control now. I wonder if they have any copyrights over this technology?

Who was using the memory card slot on the console in an effective way first?

Who had a primary setup screen that booted up when no disc was in the console?

Ideas are exchanged and adopted CONSTANTLY in industry. Nintendo obviously took some ideas from Sony and Microsoft, who took some ideas from Nintendo and Sony, and etcetc. To say that Sony is unimaginative is ridiculous given this sort of dynamic.

No, it doesn't. It has gyroscopic motion detection, not positional detection.

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Does the average consumer understand the difference? That's really the key. Nintendo's might be more functional, but when Joe Blow looks at the feature list for the console, he just sees that he can physically move the controller to impact action on screen. He doesn't care whether it's gyroscopic or positional. Nintendo's entire push thus far has been to hype their ability to use detection to control gameplay. They've now got to shift to a differentiation strategy, and show how what they do is better than what Sony's controller does. So they question becomes, will they do that? Are they prepared to handle that scenario? Did they have any idea at all Sony was going to go this direction, or are they as surprised right now as we are?

"Competitive advantage"? This phrase assumes that Nintendo is competing with Sony in the same continuum, and I think it's obvious that they're not doing that. Nintendo always struck me as the Apple of the console industry, in that they do whatever the hell they want, and only rarely anything else.

Nintendo may not think it's competing with Sony/Microsoft, but I think the fact that Nintendo is a household brand synonomous with gaming means that the public will always associate them with the Sony/Microsoft market of video games.

As far as I know, that was Sony, but Nintendo had used both dual controls and analog sticks before Sony. Sony just stuck two ideas they got from Nintendo together.

Who was using CD-format for games first?

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Certainly not Sony. I believe NEC and Hudson were the first. Sega was there after that. Also, if you know your history, the only reason Sony got into the games business to start with was because Nintendo was co-developing a CD system for the Super Famicom with them. In other words, they got the idea from Nintendo.

Who was using the memory card slot on the console in an effective way first?

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Well they were absolutely essential for the Sega CD.

Who had a primary setup screen that booted up when no disc was in the console?

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Sega certainly did. I would assume that Hudson and NEC had one as well. The best you've been able to come up with here is that they stuck two of Nintendo's ideas together.

Ideas are exchanged and adopted CONSTANTLY in industry. Nintendo obviously took some ideas from Sony and Microsoft, who took some ideas from Nintendo and Sony, and etcetc. To say that Sony is unimaginative is ridiculous given this sort of dynamic.

Nintendo may not think it's competing with Sony/Microsoft, but I think the fact that Nintendo is a household brand synonomous with gaming means that the public will always associate them with the Sony/Microsoft market of video games.

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I understand what the public perception is, but it's clear from Nintendo's moves that they have no intention of unseating Sony from the throne (or Microsoft, should they capture it). This is at odds with the very definition of direct competition.

Its funny that the person that came up with this image was not too far off.

Anyway, is there any video up yet of the demonstration? I'd like to see how sensitive the motion controller for the PS3 is. (BTW: Im expecting something along the lines of the nunchuck attatchment in terms of how it works, not the Wii-mote itslef)

And yeah, this is sounding like blatent theft on Sony's part. No wonder Nintendo likes to keep this stuff under wraps.

As far as I know, that was Sony, but Nintendo had used both dual controls and analog sticks before Sony. Sony just stuck two ideas they got from Nintendo together.Certainly not Sony. I believe NEC and Hudson were the first. Sega was there after that. Also, if you know your history, the only reason Sony got into the games business to start with was because Nintendo was co-developing a CD system for the Super Famicom with them. In other words, they got the idea from Nintendo.Well they were absolutely essential for the Sega CD.Sega certainly did. I would assume that Hudson and NEC had one as well. The best you've been able to come up with here is that they stuck two of Nintendo's ideas together.

It certainly isn't, given the unbalanced nature of that dynamic.

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I forgot all about Sega. Thanks for reminding me that they were once relevant.

Nevertheless, though, you've proven my point (and note that I never said that Sony came up with those ideas; plausible deniability of my mistake, perhaps? ); Nintendo HAS taken good ideas from good companies, and other companies have taken good ideas from Nintendo as well.

If Nintendo were to copy Microsoft and XBOXLive in terms of online gaming, how many people would be saying, "Oh, GEE, NINTENDO! Nice job being CREATIVE!" ? It's no different than what Sony did; they mimicked a good idea. Claiming that it was their innovation (if they did, didn't read the full article), yeah, that would be stupid. But nevertheless, I'm not too upset because these things happen.

And, more often than not, they result in increased competition, which then leads to greater innovation, creativity, and desire to succeed. I don't see this being bad for the consumer, and as such, I don't see this being bad for gamers in general. Except for the diehard Nintendo fanboys who get easily offended by such things.

Does the average consumer understand the difference? That's really the key. Nintendo's might be more functional, but when Joe Blow looks at the feature list for the console, he just sees that he can physically move the controller to impact action on screen. He doesn't care whether it's gyroscopic or positional. Nintendo's entire push thus far has been to hype their ability to use detection to control gameplay. They've now got to shift to a differentiation strategy, and show how what they do is better than what Sony's controller does. So they question becomes, will they do that? Are they prepared to handle that scenario? Did they have any idea at all Sony was going to go this direction, or are they as surprised right now as we are?

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Well let's think about that. First, I'm pretty sure most people actually play a game console before buying one or asking mommy and daddy to get one for them. Next, Sony's developers aren't going to have time to do much with this feature for the first few waves of games, so there won't be much support for it apparent, while Nintendo's will be obvious right off the bat. The difference in qualty will thus be exaggerated in the eyes of the public. Also remember that Nintendo is trying to gain the interest of people that don't normally play games. The DS3 is not intuitive to non-gamers compared to the Wii controller, for one thing. For another, the games are going to be the deciding factor on whether or not the system can draw in non-gamers.

Besides, remember it's rarely the console with the best specs on paper that gets the most support.

"Competitive advantage"? This phrase assumes that Nintendo is competing with Sony in the same continuum, and I think it's obvious that they're not doing that. Nintendo always struck me as the Apple of the console industry, in that they do whatever the hell they want, and only rarely anything else.

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I think you're wrong in this case Streck. Certainly the Nintendo/Apple analogy is a good one historically. But this is not remotely the same thing as Nintendo deciding to forego CD media 10 years ago, or deciding gamers didn't want online capabilities, or deciding the future of gaming was hooking up a Game Boy to your home console. Nintendo has spent the last year directly touting how the Wii controller is different from traditional game pads. About how revolutionary this method of control would be. About how it would change the way we think about gaming. They've spent a year DIRECTLY differentiating themselves from Sony and Microsoft, rather than the abstract way they usually do it ("This is what we're doing." "Why?" "Because you want it, you just don't realize it."). I think it's pretty clear Nintendo saw motion sensing as an advantage they had over PS3 and Xbox 360. And now, they've lost the hook they've worked a year to build up. So what now?